I guess it’s not that surprising that I’ve spent the last few days thinking about the past year and what has changed in my life. From the sort of posts I’ve seen popping up on other personal finance blogs, I’m not the only one – and there’s one change that actually makes me really happy.

It’s the realization that money equals freedom. I wrote about that a little when I told you all about my plans for blow like $200 in a single night on a fancy New Year’s Eve party, but as I thought about all the changes that occurred this year, that’s still the one that really stuck out.

I mean, I knew that having money lets you pay your bills, buy all the ModCloth dresses you want, see the world, eat macarons and drive a cool car. But I don’t think I saw money as freedom, I saw it more as something I was a slave to. As in, I have to make X number of dollars to be able to pay for Y or my credit card bill is Z number of dollars and it’s really stressing me out.

Slowly that mindset evolved though into seeing some of the things I was buying as weights on the end of a chain dragging me down. If I can’t really afford that ModCloth dress, it’s not some awesome thing – it becomes some crappy bill that I’m now stressed out about how to pay. If I hadn’t bought that stupid ModCloth dress, I would have $80 in my bank account and actually feel better about life because it’s nicer to have $80 in your bank account than an 8th or 10th dress… because what if I need to like eat or pay my electric bill or something this week?

What’s even more interesting to me though is that since learning how to see that, it’s not unusual for me to have $80 or $160 or $240 in my bank account at the end of month – even after fulfilling any savings goals, in which case, instead of that ModCloth dress causing me an ulcer, I can take my time, think about it, decide I really do love and want it and buy it. And then not worry about anything… because earlier planning left me free to buy what I wanted.

I have no idea why I’m all about ModCloth in these examples. Probably because I really want this dress, but I’m not sure I love it yet, so I’ve been holding off… for about 14 months. On the one hand, I can clearly live without it, on the other hand, when I do cave in an spend $120 on this sucker, I will not feel bad about it because I totally thought this purchase out and properly prepared to buy it.

That being said, in this first post of 2015, I have a challenge for you – do you have a financial plan? 

1. Understanding your net worth is the first place to start. You need an accurate picture of financial situation, even if it’s not a pretty one.
2. You need a plan – and the easiest way to make one is to set up a budget. You can write one up by hand or use a great website like Mint, but dedicating a few hours to setting one up can be a real game changer.
3. You need to realistically evaluate your plan, and if you’re not making enough to cover your financial needs, you need to get your hustle on. There are literally side hustles for everyone. Figure out what you can do to bring in more money to get rid of that debt or build up an emergency fund.
4. Revel in your increasing financial freedom.

It all starts by taking tangible steps, but along the way, your mindset really does change. Material objects begin to matter a lot less. Quality trumps quantity. And money stops being your master and becomes one of your tools.

Happy New Year!!